Alain Vigneault said what he had to, and he said it because it’s true.

In the direct aftermath of an embarrassing end to the season Saturday afternoon in Pittsburgh in Game 5 of the first round, the Rangers coach was questioned about the viability of his team’s roster going forward. He was asked if the squad as currently constructed was good enough, with the questioner acknowledging reflection is difficult in the immediate wake of such disappointment.

“You answered your question with just the way you phrased it. It is too early to get into that right now,” Vigneault said. “I can tell you that without a doubt, like any organization, we’re going to go through all the steps — from coaches to management, what we’re thinking, the player evaluation and what we think this team needs to do to take the next step.”

Player evaluation is the biggest part of this process as few on the roster are absolved from the 6-3 loss to the Penguins on Saturday or the 5-0 blowout loss in Game 4 — or any part of an inconsistent regular season that fetched 101 points through muscle memory and goaltending.

There are plentiful questions with the personnel, and they all revolve around the Rangers being pressed up close to the salary-cap ceiling.

It will not be carte blanche on Broadway this summer. The veterans on the Rangers have all earned their big-money contracts, but some of them also have earned the hard lens through which general manager Jeff Gorton has to view them.

With the annual cap hit of $7.8 million, one of the harshest lights will be on forward Rick Nash, the team’s most viable trade option. At 31 years old, Nash has two years left on his deal, and it would be a touchy moment if Gorton were to ask for the list of 10 to 12 teams Nash would accept a trade to, in accordance with his limited no-trade clause.

NashAnthony J. Causi

Nash has been a soldier for the Blueshirts since coming over in a deal with the Blue Jackets in the summer of 2012. He has shown dedication to the defensive side of the game and has redirected individual acclaim for the team collective.

But Nash has not been the player the Rangers hoped they were getting. His four regular seasons with the Blueshirts have been stellar, and his four postseasons have left desperately wanting. If Gorton can find an acceptable return, trading Nash is the most obvious way to find some cap relief.

Now, what to do if that space is available? There is the issue of Keith Yandle, the unrestricted free-agent defenseman likely to garner a substantial raise on his $5.25 million salary, only half of which the Rangers were paying as part of the 2015 trade-deadline deal with Arizona. His good and bad were seen all season. His 42 assists were the most for a Rangers defenseman since Brian Leetch in 2001-02, while a brutal turnover and defensive-zone lapse cost the team the go-ahead goal in Game 5, the most crucial of situations.

It’s good Dan Boyle’s $4.5 million is coming off the books as the 39-year-old defenseman seems to be contemplating retirement. But what to do with Dan Girardi and his $5.5 million hit that runs for the next four seasons, with a no-trade clause next year that gets modified the following three? A buyout is an option for the blue-blooded Blueshirt who sacrificed his body for the team’s three good runs at the Stanley Cup, all of which fell tantalizingly short.

But falling short has to come back to the masked face of this franchise, Henrik Lundqvist. The goalie spent this season showing glimpses of being the best in the world, interspersed with glimpses of slipping. His playoffs ended with two straight pulls, 10 goals on 41 shots through 66:09 of work. He turned 34 in March and carries an $8.5 million hit, a full no-trade clause, in a deal that extends through 2020-21.

The prime of his career is likely behind him, and that’s a difficult thought for the Rangers to fathom. He was utterly distraught Saturday, using words like “embarrassment” and “helplessness.” He is far from done, but he might be past the point where he single-handedly can carry his team through the spring and into the later rounds of the tournament.

“He’s not the only one — everybody wanted to end this way different than it did,” Vigneault said. “I’m sure it’s disappointing for him and our whole group.”

So if Gorton’s hands already were full, now he also finds them tied. It should be an interesting summer in Rangerstown, indeed.